Baseball history unpacked, September 13

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue brings a you a light-hearted, Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past, with plenty of the lore and deep dives into various narratives that expand over the course of time. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow along. Don’t be afraid to click the links for ‘inside baseball’ on the entries, which change from year to year as we re-examine the subjects.

Today in baseball history:

• 1845 - Alexander Cartwright presents the first set of baseball rules, 20 in total. (3)
• 1883 - Cleveland’s one-arm pitcher Hugh Daily no-hits Philadelphia, 1-0. (3)
• 1902 - Johnny Evers, acquired to replace second baseman Bobby Lowe, who broke his ankle, joins shortstop Joe Tinker and first baseman Frank Chance on the Chicago infield, marking the first time the three Cubs’ infielders have played together. Franklin Pierce Adams’ poem, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon,” better known as “Tinker to Evers to Chance,” immortalizes the legendary double-play trio. Germany Schaefer is at 3B as Chicago clips St. Louis, 12-0. (1,3)
• 1925 - Brooklyn’s Dazzy Vance narrowly misses back-to-back no-hitters over Philadelphia, pitching a 10-1 no-hitter five days after a 1-0 one-hitter. The Phils’ lone run is scored by Chicken Hawks, who reaches second base on an error. Five days earlier it was Hawks’ 2nd-inning single that ruined Vance’s no-hitter. On June 17, 1923, Vance lost a no-hitter with two out in the 9th. In the second game, the Phils win, 7-3, behind Hawks’ grand slam. (1,3)
• 1931 - At Wrigley Field, the Cubs win 11-7 over the Braves when player-manager Rogers Hornsby cracks an 11th-inning pinch grand slam. This is the first extra-inning pinch grand slam in major league history. The Cubs take the second game, 8-1, behind Guy Bush’s one-hitter, his second of the year. His first was against the Cards on August 9th. (3)
• 1934 - Judge Landis sells the World Series broadcast rights to the Ford Motor Company for $100,000. Previously no fee had been charged. (3)
• 1938 - A special committee names Alexander Cartwright to Baseball’s Hall of Fame for originating the sport’s basic concepts. Henry Chadwick, inventor of the box score and the first baseball writer, is also honored. (2,3)
• 1946 - Taking advantage of the shallow position the left fielder is playing due to the Boudreau shift, Ted Williams hits his lone career inside-the-park home run, which proves to be the difference in the Red Sox’ 1-0 victory over the Indians. The win clinches Boston’s first American League pennant since 1918. (1)
• 1951 - At Sportsman’s Park, the Cardinals play a rare doubleheader - the first in the 20th century - with two different teams, defeating the Giants, 6-4, in the first game in the afternoon when they score six runs against Sal Maglie in the second inning. In the nitecap, against the Braves, the Redbirds manage just one hit — by pitcher Al Brazle — in losing to Warren Spahn, 2-0. The Cards’ total attendance is 8,865 - 4,160 for the Giants and 4,705 for the Braves. It is the first time since 1883 that three-team twin bill has been played. (1,3)
• 1960 - Eighteen-year-old OF Danny Murphy becomes the youngest Cub to hit a home run when he clouts a three-run homer off Bob Purkey, but the Reds win, 8-6, in Cincinnati. Murphy will play just 49 games for the Cubs from 1960 to 1962. He will come back as a pitcher for the White Sox in 1969 and 1970. (1,3)
• 1989 - Fay Vincent becomes baseball’s eighth commissioner, succeeding the late Bart Giamatti, who died of a heart attack 12 days ago. During the first year of his brief three-year tenure in office, the Waterbury, Connecticut native will oversee the postponement of this season’s World Series due to the Loma Prieta earthquake, the expulsion of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and the owners’ lockout during spring training in 1990. (1)
• 1991 - A 55-ton block collapses in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. The Expos, already in last place, will have to play the rest of their home games on the road. (2,4)
• 1998 - Sammy Sosa eclipses a National League record for the most home runs hit at one park by one player set by Ted Kluszewski when he hits his 35th at Wrigley Field, surpassing the former Reds first baseman’s 1954 total at Crosley Field. The Cubs right fielder’s 62nd of the season ties Mark McGwire for the league’s lead in their historic home run race. His homer in the bottom of the ninth off of Eric Plunk helps to tie the game at ten runs apiece in the Cubs’ eventual 11-10 extra-inning victory over Milwaukee at Wrigley Field. (1,3,4)
• 2020 - Chicago right-hander Alec Mills hurls the franchise’s 16th no-hitter, facing 29 batters in a 12-0 rout of the Brewers at Miller Park. The game marks the second no-no thrown at the Milwaukee venue, the site of the Cubs’ Carlos Zambrano’s hitless contest, except that game didn’t include the hometown Brew Crew because the ballpark served as a neutral site for an Astro contest moved from Houston because of Hurricane Ike. (1,3)

Cubs birthdays: Dutch Ruether, John Kelleher, Rabbit Warstler, Greg Hibbard, Wade Miller, Greg Hibbard, Alfonso Rivas.

Common sources:

• (1) — The National Pastime.
• (2) — Today in Baseball History.
• (3) — Baseball Reference.
• (4) — Society for American Baseball Research.
• (5) — Baseball Hall of Fame.
• (6) — This Day in Chicago Cubs history.

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